Not Alone
by unknownnerd
Summary: My take on the gaps between Holly and Gail's screen time because life is way too long to go through it alone. Gail/Holly
1. Chapter 1

Life is way too long to go through it alone. That one sentence replaying over and over in Gail's mind. Alone. Gail sighs and shakes her head to get rid of the foggy haze. She realises she is now alone in the room, standing there looking what could be described as lost. She quickly rebuilds the defensive walls and heads towards her desk. There was a lot of paperwork that needed to be completed and it was not going to do it by itself.

Life is way too long to go through it alone. That one thought kept banging away against her mind. She stops suddenly, and turns back towards the locker room. Opening her locker, she pauses, "Come on Gail," she mutters, "It is only a wedding. Who wants to go to a wedding alone?" Her hands find Holly's name and hit call. Gail begins to pace back and forth waiting for Holly to pick up. She sighs again and almost hangs up before Holly's voice makes an appearance over the phone.

"Hey" Holly answers with a hint of surprise lacing her voice. Gail feels herself relax at the sound of Holly's calm voice. Placing her hand to her head, she thumbs her temples before replying.

"Er, hi, I hope I'm not interrupting anything but there was something I wanted to ask you" Gail scrunches her forehead, confused over why she cares if she's interrupting.

Soft laughter from Holly reaches Gail's ears and a slow smile works it's way onto her face. "No, you're not. Although I don't think it would have made a difference if you were. What's the question?" Gail can feel the smirk from Holly.

"There is a wedding. Tonight. I need a plus one and figured the nerd that you are probably does not go out much. So do you? Want to be my plus one?" Gail cringes while waiting for a response.

"Uh huh, if that's what you say. Um, yeah why not? I mean sometimes I have to party with the living and not just the dead" Gail lets out the breath she didn't realise she was holding and smirks at the teasing answer from Holly. She liked the fact that Holly could give as well as Gail.

"Good. I'll meet you at the bar." Gail barely gives Holly time to respond before hanging up. She quickly texts Holly the address before placing her phone back in the locker. Leaning against the closed steel door, Gail frowns as she replays the conversation in her head. She barely knows Holly but already she has opened up to her more than some of her colleagues.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she steps back into the hall towards her desk with a slight nervous feeling about what the night might hold.

* * *

Shock. Gail was in shock. "What just happened?" she whispers to no one, as she gently touches her lips.

Holly kissed her. And she let Holly kiss her. She wasn't sure which statement was more shocking to her system. There was time, Gail thinks, time to move or stop whatever was going to happen. Holly gave her time to move but she didn't. She accepted the kiss and even kissed back.

Gail places the glass down and stands to remove the fur coat, suddenly feeling very hot. She glances back to where she was previously sat before grabbing her coat. She needed to get away from the wedding. And fast. She needed time to think.

The air was cold against her face as Gail exited the building, the kiss replaying in her mind. She was confused by what it all meant. Gail sighed and sat down on the brick wall nearby the building.

The kiss was nice, unexpected but nice. Holly didn't mean anything by it, Gail was sure of that. Maybe she should just take it as it was. Just a kiss, does not have to be anything more than that.

Gail groaned into her hands. It was more than just a kiss. Things like that do not happen to her unless she allows it but why did she allow it. Maybe it was because Holly understood her; at least enough not to take one look at her weird sarcastic hidden self and run a mile, like most people do.

Holly allowed Gail to let down a wall so maybe that was why she didn't pull away from the kiss. Holly, in the short amount of time they had known each other, allowed Gail to feel safe. She looks back towards the building where the wedding party is still going on.

The kiss means nothing. Only that maybe she has found someone with the potential to be a great friend, someone who won't disappear. Gail stands and heads back towards the party because for tonight, she is done thinking.


	2. Chapter 2

"Everybody deserves to be happy Gail, even you", Traci smiles as she walks out of the locker room. Gail stands there for a second thinking about what Traci just said. A different date every night is not being happy, she thinks.

She quickly dials Holly's number, not giving Holly time to speak before saying, "Hey, what are you doing tonight?" A slight smile appears on her face and the small laugh from Holly's voice.

"Hello to you too Gail. I'm not doing anything important. Why?" questions Holly,

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet up or something…" Gail's voice disappears towards the end of the question, suddenly unsure as to what she actually wants.

Holly hearing the uncertainty in Gail's voice, smiles before taking control. "Sure, I actually know the perfect place. I'll text you the address and meet you there in say thirty minutes."

Gail sighs. "Yeah sure, but what do you have planned? I don not like surprises nerd." Holly laughs into the receiver.

"Guess you will have to trust me Officer. Thirty minutes. See you there." Holly's laughter continues as she hangs up the phone.

Gail spends the next five minutes staring at her phone. She hated surprises. They never ended well for her or anyone else around her. But there was something about Holly that made her want to trust and want to be surprised. The phone buzzed Gail away from her thoughts. The address was not one she recognised. In that moment she could have googled it but she didn't. She wanted to be surprised. Gail turned back towards her locker to continue getting changed. A small smile gracing her lips as she did so.

* * *

"I told you I don't like sports," Gail splutters out as she leaves the cage, "I'm leaving". She heads towards the benches, still aware that Holly is laughing her guts up behind her. She places her helmet on the floor and puts her head into her hands in an attempt to calm herself down. Humiliation and embarrassment is what Gail was feeling.

"This is why I hate surprises nerd!" Gail exclaims as Holly sits down next to her.

Holly shrugs, still trying to get her laughter under control. "Maybe, but you are having fun aren't you?" Holly questions with a raised eyebrow as she bangs into Gail slightly. Gail looks up and takes a second to look at Holly before looking back at the batting cages.

"Yeah, yeah I am," Gail says softly. It has been a long time since she has had this much fun or been able to openly laugh as much as she has. There was something about Holly that made her open up and not feel ashamed to be embarrassed in front of her. It was a new feeling but a nice one. One that she could get used too. She smiled at Holly, who in return smiled a wide smile back. "Thanks for this. I think I really needed it especially after today." Holly nodded in understanding.

"Yeah I know, you seemed to be under a lot of stress earlier, and I've always found hitting something, or not in your case," Holly smirks, earning a slight shove from Gail, "is a great way to let off some steam."

Gail leans back slightly, her hands wringing together, a sign of nerves Gail thinks. "We used to date, me and Chris. To be honest it was never going to be the end all because of how I treated him, but I still care about him, you know." Holly moved a little closer to Gail as a sign of support. Gail subconsciously leaned towards her before continuing. "And he is such a nice guy, he did not deserve any of this, especially not finding out his son is not even his son. He put so much of himself into his family, I can't even imagine what he is feeling." Gail sighs. Holly puts her arm around Gail and brings her into a sideways hug. "It just sucks," Gail continues, her voice getting softer.

Holly kisses Gail's temple and squeezes her gently. "I understand," she whispers softly, "so how about we whack a few more balls. See if you can actually hit one" Holly teases her lightly. Gail laughs quietly and wipes her eyes at the tears threatening to fall.

"Yes lets. Although I know where you work, so no photographic evidence or there will be hell to pay." Gail grabs the bat and heads back to the cage, thankful that Holly changed the subject. She felt almost lighter and was glad Holly was there. Holly seemed to understand what she needed before Gail even did.

"Yes Officer." Holly smirked, "but with that swing, I think I'll be ok" she poked her tongue out at Gail, who turned and glared before storming into the cage. The battle is on now, Gail thinks.


End file.
